Best way from Dublin airport to Dublin city center

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As part of our recent trip to Europe, we had a few hours in Dublin and wanted to explore the Dublin city center. Well, actually, we were taking a train from Connolly Station, so we needed to get from Dublin airport to Dublin city centre. Because the Dublin Ireland airport is about 10km north of the Dublin city centre, there are several different options for your journey – figure out which option is best for you to get from Dublin airport to Dublin city center

I’m a planner type person, so when we were in Dublin recently, I researched the various options to get from the Dublin airport to Dublin city centre, so I thought I’d share them with you too!

Option 1: Taking a taxi from Dublin airport to Dublin city center

Taking the taxi from Dublin airport to Dublin city center is going to be the most convenient option, but, as with most things like this, it will likely be your most expensive option. Dublin airport taxi fare from Dublin airport to Dublin city centre will depend on the number of passengers, bags, and whether you are traveling during a “premium” time of day (between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and on Sundays and holidays)

You can use Transport for Ireland’s taxi fare calculator to get an idea of what your fare for transportation from Dublin airport will be like, depending on your destination, but figure anywhere from 25-40 Euros.

There are marked taxi stands outside both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 of the Dublin airport

Option 2: Taking an Uber from Dublin airport to Dublin city centre

taking an Uber from Dublin airport to Dublin city centre would be between €19-24 for a uberTAXI and €34-44 for UberBLACK. Obviously if you have any Uber credits, that could make things even cheaper for you.

Option 3: Taking a Dublin airport bus from Dublin airport to city center

There are 2 different Dublin bus routes that you can take from Dublin airport to Dublin city centre. When we were there, we took the Dublin airport bus from Dublin airport to the city center and it was quite easy to manage. You can take the Aircoach Dublin or the Airlink Dublin buses – they both pick up at the same spot in the Arrivals section outside Dublin International Airport

Here’s a Dublin airport map, marked with where you can pick up the Dublin airport shuttle from Terminal 2. You can also get a Dublin airport bus on the Arrivals Road outside Terminal 1

Courtesy of Open Street Map

Our flight from Boston arrived in Terminal 2, and as we exited Dublin International Airport, it looked a little something like this

Exiting the terminal from the right, you’ll cross over the road for Arrivals, go down an escalator, and there will be ticket vending machines for both the Dublin Aircoach and the Dublin Airlink buses. Both the Dublin Aircoach and Dublin Airlink will cost about €6-7 one-way. We bought 2 tickets from the vending machine, and for a bit I was worried that the machine was going to eat our change, but it did dispense €2 coins for change. There are sometimes discounts that you can get for booking online, but just note that it does lock you into going with either the Dublin Aircoach or Dublin Airlink.

Both Dublin bus routes are supposed to run every 15 minutes during most of the day, but we bought tickets for the Dublin Airlink at the vending machines outside the terminal and then sat and watched like 2 or 3 Dublin Aircoach buses show up before our Dublin Airlink bus arrived… 🙁

You can see the Dublin bus schedule at these links – Dublin Airlink schedule here and Dublin Aircoach schedule here.

The Dublin airport bus journey takes about 30-45 minutes or possibly even more depending on traffic.

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7 Comments

kj
on February 10, 2016 at 8:56 am

Hi, one option we looked at that we will probably do is pre-book private transfer through sites like viator cheaper and better option so no waiting around. We are going to Dublin after London in nov 2016 for my 50th …..any good tips?

Unfortunately due to our flight getting canceled – what was supposed to be 24 hours in Dublin turned into about 3 hours in Dublin. We got into the Dublin city center about 6 a.m. and did a brief walking tour through St. Patrick’s, Temple Bar, etc. I think we found it on Rick Steves’ site

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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at dan@pointswithacrew.com.